Chocolate crispy bars: almost instant dessert

We had last minute company coming and I wanted to make something really easy for dessert. (The last time these out-of-town guests came I made polenta with roasted veggies and red pepper purée, which I didn't write about because I forgot to photograph it. For dessert we had baked apples. The whole dinner was so easy to do that it felt like I hadn't done anything and it was pretty impressive both in taste and appearance.) For this dinner Ken was making pasta with tomato sauce and a salad and I was going to stir fry some green beans and make dessert.

There was a recipe in Oct. 2007 Vegetarian Times for a version of crispy rice treats with chocolate that I wanted to try and they were so fast and easy to make that I'll share my slightly revised recipe. I served them on an attractive platter with orange wedges. It looked great but - no photo. I set up a little plate with a leftover piece and a couple of orange slices but the photo doesn't do them justice at all. They were quite appealing -and very sweet.

Crispy bars
1/2 cup almond butter
3/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
2 teaspoons vanilla
5-6 cups crispy brown rice cereal (like Erewhon or Barbara's)

Oil a 9x9 baking dish. Place almond butter, syrups, and chips in a large saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly until melted and beginning to bubble. (about 5 minutes) Remove from heat, stir in vanilla then stir in as much of the cereal as the syrup will absorb without becoming too dry. Press into the dish. You can use a piece of parchment paper to help press the bars down. Cool in the refrigerator 15 minutes then slice into pieces with a knife dipped in cold water. Refrigerate to harden.

I have a recipe that I created years ago for a puffed rice, no chocolate, version of this dessert that I want to find and test. I remember really liking it and taking it to a zillion potlucks. It was based on a Japanese street sweet, and made with barley malt, and I think I called it Andrea's Crispy Treats.